1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for making data communications and information display between a terminal apparatus such as a digital camera, PDA (Personal Digital Assistants, to be also referred to as a “portable terminal apparatus” hereinafter), or the like, and a computer apparatus such as a personal computer or the like.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, a system in which a terminal apparatus such as a digital camera, PDA (portable terminal apparatus), or the like, which can input and display image data, text data, and the like, is connected to a computer apparatus which can record and display data, and in which data can be transferred from the terminal apparatus to the computer apparatus or vice versa is known.
The aforementioned terminal apparatus, for example, a commercially available digital camera, normally has an RS232C serial communication port. By directly connecting the serial communication port of the digital camera to that of the computer apparatus, data transfer can be done between them. As such connection means between the terminal apparatus and computer apparatus, parallel communications, infrared ray communications, or the like are normally used in addition to the aforementioned serial communications.
The aforementioned terminal apparatus includes those which can select operation modes such as data input, data transfer, list display, and the like by means of, e.g., physical switches, a menu displayed on a display unit, or the like.
More specifically, a digital camera which comprises a select switch for a photographing mode and communication mode is available. This digital camera mainly has the following arrangement. In the photographing mode, data is input (i.e., photographing operation for capturing an image) is done upon depression of a release button, but no data is transferred between the camera and the computer apparatus at that time. On the other hand, in the communication mode, data is transferred between the camera and the computer apparatus, but no photographing is done at that time. According to the selected operation mode, the release button is disabled in the communication mode. In this manner, any operation errors can be prevented. Also, when the function of a given operation switch is switched in correspondence with the selected operation mode, a plurality of functions can be provided to a single operation switch. As a result, the total number of operation switches can be decreased.
Meanwhile, a digital camera with the following arrangement is available. A menu is displayed on a liquid crystal screen as a display unit, and a language used to display the menu or information on the liquid crystal screen is switched to a display language (Japanese, English, or the like) set on the menu. In this fashion, a single digital camera can be used in various countries.
Also, some computer apparatuses and application software programs used in the computer apparatus can change the way data is displayed by changing their settings. For example, “Windows” available from Microsoft Corp. has a function to set the display language (Japanese, English, or the like). When the display language is changed by using this function, language used in the user interface of an application running on the Windows is changed.
Also, in the computer apparatus, when the terminal apparatus is connected to the apparatus, this connection is detected and a state of the connected terminal apparatus is detected. Further, when the state of the connected terminal apparatus is changed, it is possible to detect the changed state by some computer apparatuses. For example, a personal computer (to be simply referred to as a “PC” or the like) on which “Windows98” available from Microsoft Corp. is installed can detect the state of a device connected via the USB (Universal Serial Bus).
However, in the aforementioned conventional computer apparatus, especially, the conventional computer apparatus that can change the data display method, when a plurality of users use that computer apparatus and individually set the apparatus in the ways they want, each user must switch the setups of the previous user to his or her setups. When the user uses a given computer apparatus for the first time, such operation is required. That is, conventionally, when the user uses a computer apparatus for the first time, or when a plurality of users who use different setups share a single computer apparatus, they must change the setups of the computer apparatus every time they use it.
In the aforementioned conventional terminal apparatus, especially, the conventional terminal apparatus which can be used while switching the operation mode, a plurality of functions can be assigned to a single operation switch, and the total number of operation switches can be decreased. However, the user must learn the functions of the operation switches in the respective operation modes. This may disturb easy learning about operations of the terminal apparatus.